


Earth Will Burn (but not for us)

by mynameisyarra



Series: Have You Heard About The Paladins of Voltron? [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Family Drama, Future Fic, Gen, Half Galran Keith, Headcanon, Politics, Propaganda, but here have some smear campaign of the paladins, honestly idk how to politic, like a lot of headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-25 23:17:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7551046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mynameisyarra/pseuds/mynameisyarra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They came back to Earth to liberate it. They didn't expect the Anti-Voltron propaganda to have reached Earth as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Earth Will Burn (but not for us)

**Author's Note:**

> If you have questions regarding the headcanons, don't hesitate to ask! You can also contact me @ my tumblr
> 
> http://yarrayora.tumblr.com/

“Deepthroat this.” Keith choked at the other side of the room as Pidge held up their communication devices. It was designed to stay lodged in their throat for about a day or so. The Krullans would definitely checked them thoroughly for one but they would never consider that it would be placed deeper than the mouth.

“Hot.” Lance smirked right before swallowing the rectangle shaped device. The gel surrounding it--the one that made the device lodge- felt cold inside him. “Kinda gross.”

Pidge waggled her brows, “Sorry it’s not hot and salty like usual.”

“Gaaaaay.” Lance quipped. Keith made an ‘I’m done’ gesture as he left the room. 

Hunk shuddered at the taste of the gel. “Ew, okay. We need to work on that gel.”

Shiro looked at them gravely as he briefed them for their mission. The two Paladins listened to him attentively, the previous lighthearted atmosphere disappeared from their expressions. When Shiro pulled both Lance and Hunk into a hug, they returned it with as much tightness they could muster. “Be safe.” he said.

“We will.”

* * *

 

When they heard Earth had been taken over by The Krullan, one of the allied race under the Galran Empire, they dropped the diplomatic missions they had prepared ever since they took in Galran refugees alongside them. The refugees--not just the Galran ones, every single one of them who lost their planets to The Empire- understood the risk, yet they support The Paladins’ decision on this. They understood the importance of having a place to go back to. They wouldn’t want to condemn their saviors to the same fate.

They devised various plans, taking every possibilities into account. If possible they did not want to form Voltron on Earth, especially since it seemed The Krullans had established themselves in many highly populous areas. The destruction would have been too great. 

What they didn’t expect, however, was for the humans on Earth to stand side by side with The Krullans, weapons pointed at them with a grim determination plastering their expressions. “Surrender, Paladins of Voltron.” The Krullan that seemed to be the leader stepped forward. “We do not want to harm you, if possible.” Pidge scoffed loudly. Of course they don’t.

Lance was somewhere else, acting as their support, listening in with his helmet. He would have scoffed too but the hands that were holding his bayard were shaking. That hadn’t happened in a long time. “Shiro…”

“Talk to me, Lance.” Shiro muttered under his breath. Him, Pidge, and Keith were currently on a standoff with The Krullans and the Earth military. It was a confusing situation, and rather discouraging to witness. Have Earth made a deal with The Empire after all?

Over the comm, he could hear Lance’s sharp breath. “My brother is amongst those soldiers.” He hissed. “He was NOT in military, last time I was here.” Which was roughly about 5 Earth years ago. So a lot of things probably had changed. But Taylor? Joining the military willingly? Doubtful. Did they bring back that draft thing from 21st century?

Keith gripped his bayard tighter. “What are you doing?!” The human soldiers flinched. “Allying yourself with The Empire?!” The Red Paladin had no qualm in showing his anger and disappointment.

“Oh look, Iverson is here too.” Pidge said dismissively as if he was an afterthought. “Of course he would sell Earth to Zarkon.”

Shiro bonked her helmet lightly. “Pidge.” He said in a tone so affectionate it didn’t seem to fit the tense situation they were in.

“Did you?!” Keith locked his glare on Iverson.

“Keith…” Shiro put a hand on the half Galran’s shoulder. They really didn’t need him to grow fuzzy in front of impressionable humans. 

Iverson looked tired. “May I?” He asked The Krullan.

“We will be your backup.” The alien gave their reassurance before stepping aside.

“Shirogane.” Iverson greeted. “Kogane. Miss Holt.”

“Took you long enough.” Pidge sneered.

“I understand you have grudges against me.” Iverson didn’t miss the delighted face Katie Holt made as he admitted that. “But Earth will not suffer for it.”

“God. Narcissistic much?” The green clad Paladin narrowed her eyes. The nerve.

Shiro made a face for a split second, before settling for his Black Paladin expression. “You don’t have to ally yourself with The Empire anymore.” His voice was sympathetic. “The Paladins of Voltron will protect you.”

“We rather not have humans be remembered as a bunch of criminals in intergalactic history.” It sounded like a joke, but Iverson’s expression was serious.

“This is a waste of time.” Keith bristled. “Just get rid of The Krullans and move on.”

“Guys.” Hunk’s voice sounded as if it wavered over the comm. “Get back here. There is something you have to see.”

* * *

 

They slipped away from the confrontation with ease. No one followed or tried to stop them. The Krullans seemed to be prioritizing keeping their ally alive. A bit insulting, they acted as if The Paladins were going to hurt them willingly.

“That’s their angle.” Hunk looked sick to the stomach. “They are painting us as the bad guys.”

He showed them the videos on Youtube. Propaganda videos. The kind they showed little Galran soldiers before sleep so they will know how much of a monster The Paladins are.

The comment sections were discouraging. Not a single person seemed to think it was fake. “Is this why Taylor joined the military?” Lance clenched his fist. The video didn’t show his face, but his voice was recognizable. The shouts of him counting how many Galran ships he took down and Keith shouting back just as competitively. God, it must sounded awful to outsiders. “Do they believe I’m some sort of coldblooded killer?”

“Lance…” Allura grasped his arm gently, snapping him back to reality. She turned to face her Paladins. “The Krullans are famous of their dialectic. A fancy way to say that they like to twist the truth without actually lying.” The last of Altean royal looked furious. “But it seemed after allying themselves with Zarkon, they prefer outright deception.”

“I don’t like this.” Hunk’s hand rubbed the mark on his neck. A nervous tic he developed after being branded for a Kill on Sight order by The Empire. “I don’t like this at all.”

Shiro’s gut twisted in a way he hated. There was no video of THAT online. But it did not give him any comfort. He wondered if his grandparents believed in these lies. 

Because sometimes he believed in them too.

* * *

 

The plan was to send Lance and Hunk in without their bayards. They would surrender, walked into the interrogation room, and prod The Krullans with mind games to gain more intel. And as expected their plans never go the way they expected it to be, lately.

“Mama?” Lance sounded painfully young.  _ Looked _ painfully young. It had been five years since he went missing, and yet he didn’t look like he aged even for a bit.

“Lance…” She moved to approach him, seemingly to hug him. But the military guy accompanying her grabbed her and shook his head.

“Hey!” The Blue Paladin snarled. “Don’t touch my mom!”

“It’s okay, Sweetie…” Mrs. McClaine smiled tiredly, weakly. Lance hated it. “This nice man just wants to make sure we will be fine.”

She sit down across the table and noticed the handcuffs on her son. “Is this  _ really  _ necessary?” She turned to the man behind her. He didn’t say anything. Just stared at her firmly. “Right. Of course.” Lance’s mom sighed and her son felt a bit hurt that she just accepted it like that.

“So. Uh.” Lance started, badly. He was trained to deal with alien ambassadors and interrogators, not his own mother. “How are you?”

“Terrible.” Her smile was still tired, but it was still there. “But it doesn’t matter. How are  _ you _ ?” There was a hidden question beneath it. Lance didn’t want to guess what it was.

“What did they tell you, Mama?” The middle son suddenly looked less younger than he was earlier.

“Enough.” She tried not to sniffle. “Enough to know that it isn’t your fault.”

“Mama…” Lance’s voice grew softer. “Did they show you the propaganda videos?”

Mrs. McClaine started to sob. “It’s not your fault, Lance…” her son looked almost relieved, and it hurt her to say the next part. “You don’t have to kill anymore…” Between the blur of her tears, she could see the face he made. The same one he would wear when she didn’t believe he didn’t steal the cookies. This was not the reunion she wanted. “They showed us-- not just the one on Youtubes--” She tried steadying her breathe. It didn’t really work. “They showed us the videos of Shirogane in the arena…”

“THEY WHAT?!” Lance looked angry. He looked murderous. He didn’t look like the son she knew.

Lance realized belatedly that it was the reaction The Krullan wanted, as one of them entered the room and dragged his mother away from the interrogation, claiming that Lance was simply too dangerous right now. “You’ve got guts lying to my mother, Krullan.”

"It's hardly lying. Do you know how many planets there are that consider The Paladins to be power hungry monsters?" They met Lance’s glare steadily.

"No, but I bet they're all allied with The Galra Empire. Who, might I remind you, ARE power hungry monsters and kill innocent people. Remind me when the last time was that Voltron blew up a planet after sucking the life out of it? Oh wait no.  _ That was the Galra. _ "

"Now you are the one lying through your teeth. Or perhaps you do believe that. You believe everything your leaders tell you, yes? Admirable in a soldier, but... you are a child. They're using you the way they used that Galran boy."

God. Now they were using Keith as an excuse. Fucking disgusting.

“You don’t know anything.” He said coldly. "We don't have ‘leaders’ like you seem to think we do. We aren't controlled by anyone. We're protectors of the universe." Allura was their commander, yes. But she was also their equal.

"Is that what they tell you you are doing?" the Krullan sighed, "You know, at first I thought you are just like that Shirogane, callous monster that enjoys destruction. But you know what your mother told me? That you were not even an adult when you left Earth. It pains me--"

Lance stood up as best he could against the cuffs, he didn't even register the comment on his age. "Takashi Shirogane was FORCED to fight in that arena against his will with the other prisoners and I will NOT listen to you call him a monster!"

In the other side of the interrogation room, Mrs. McClaine insisted to stay and watch her son’s interrogation. She needed to know, needed to be sure. She never seen him this angry before. Never in a way that promised the ruins of life if the Krullan spoke another word. Was this truly her son?

* * *

 

Hunk didn’t know what was happening with Lance’s interrogation for sure. But the fact that his parents were here, sitting in front of him with teary eyes and forced smile, he could guess.

"They were surprised to hear you are just a child... they-- showed us some reports... videos... Hunk, sweetie? Look at me, please. They told me they have a kill on sight order for you." His mother reached out to touch his cheek. Hunk backed away with a wince. He rather not have his mother saw the mark that was burned into his flesh.

Mr. Garrett grasped his wife’s hand a little tighter. As if to tell her that it would be okay, they would go through this. "They told us they can revoke that... they didn't know you are underage... son, you don't have to do this anymore..."

“Dad… they’re lying-- well not on the kill on sight order but it’s because they’re working for The Galra Empire!”

“Hunk…”

“No, listen, please! Zarkon is evil! He hurt my friends!” Allura’s lessons on politics and diplomacy were forgotten as Hunk talked to his parents. Not that he would use it against them in the first place. It felt wrong if he did.

The conversation was going nowhere, and it seemed The Krullans were getting just as frustrated too. The military escorted his parents out, replacing them with one of the aliens. “It’s good to finally meet you face to face.”

Behind the one way mirror, Mr. Garrett watched his son’s whole demeanor changing. Hunk sat straight up, however his expression were relaxed with a smile that he usually saw on a politician’s face. A shiver ran down his spine as his son chuckled, “Your words are as sweet as your poison, Krullan.” Hunk’s father stayed because his wife couldn’t. Not after seeing her son so withdrawn. He wanted to make sure that Hunk would be okay, but now he wondered if he should have left too.

"So we finally get to see your true colors, Paladin?"

“I was wondering when I will get to see yours.” The shrug looked careless, but Hunk was never careless.

“You have a loving family.”

The young man’s expression turned stoic again. “I do.”

"No one told your sister about... the things you have done."

"No. I don't think you are that desperate yet." Hunk stared the Krullan down.

The Krullan drooped, looking as sympathetic as ever, "We are... sorry." Hunk raised an eyebrow. "For putting the kill on sight order. Should have we known that you were just a child--"

"Ah, so that's where this is going. Somewhere along the lines of 'you are being used, you are just a child, please come back home and leave the war'?" Hunk sounded so… professional, so sure of himself. Perhaps pride would have bloomed inside his father’s heart if not for the situation at hand. "I've heard it before, from both sides. I know all the tricks, I know what you'll try to say to guilt me, to convince me what I'm doing is wrong. It won't work."

Mr. Garrett forced himself to stay. To listen to Hunk’s story about Balmerans, and to see the Krullan refuted it with their own facts. Yet Hunk stayed calm, his voice didn’t waver even though he would usually be emotional about it.

This was Hunk. But he had changed.

* * *

 

“They’re using me for their propaganda.” Keith felt physically ill. There was him, in his Galran form in the video, depicted as a brainwashed child soldier. After everything he had been through-- his entire existence being a lie, the fact that he could be MIND CONTROLLED at the touch of a button, the fact that they tortured him when he resisted it… and they dared to use his face to say ‘Hey! We are the good guys!’

The rest of the team were listening in to the interrogation. The half Galran felt even sicker when Lance’s mother mentioned that the Krullans indeed showed the gladiator video. Keith gripped Shiro’s hand. They both needed it.

Coran took a shuddering breath as he listened to Hunk’s conversation with his parents. Allura looked ready to kill, her nails digging deep into her own palm. "Get them out." Keith told Pidge. "They don't deserve this. Get them out."

“They haven’t given us the signal yet.” Pidge said, expression unreadable.

“Pidge!”

“They know what they’re doing, Keith.”

Shiro put a hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith didn't even realize he was shaking until then. "You... you don't have to watch. We can brief you later. It's okay."

He stared back at him, "You don't have to watch either, but you are still here."

The Green Paladin suddenly jumped from her seat. “That’s the signal!” She sounded relieved. “Let’s go get them!”

* * *

“It’s a show, Commander.” The Krullan told Iverson. “Those so called refugees are either traitors or slaves.”

Iverson wasn’t blind, he still had his one good eye. War was not an absolute black and white territory. He had no doubt that the ever accommodating Krullans also had their own dirty laundries, but he decided not to pursue. Right now they were allies, and he was serious that he rather not have humanity go down on history as the enemy. After all, history was written by the winner.

The Altean Princess looked like an elf straight out of a fantasy book. She was smiling at Shirogane, whom helped her climbed down the spaceship like the gentleman that he was. A stark contrast of the Shirogane they all saw in the videos. The one that could rip someone’s heart out of their body by using only his arm. “I’ll be back.” She told the refugees with a smile that could win the masses. Then she turned around from them, toward the negotiation place accompanied by her two Paladins.

Iverson narrowed his eyes. The Holt kid wasn’t here. They must be planning something.

* * *

It was easy to slip into the base undetected. Pidge licked her lips, already assuming the worst. Watching the Krullans being buddy buddy with humans turned out to be the worst part of it. The best part? She got to bump into her mother, who was wearing a volunteer outfit. “Mom?”

“Katie?”

* * *

 

“Your subordinates have willingly surrendered themselves to us, Princess Allura.” The Krullan Ambassador stated. “I don’t see why we should give them back to you.”

“Friends.” Allura corrected, looking annoyed at the Krullan. “They are my friends. We are equals.”

“Of course, my apologies.” The Krullan didn’t seem sorry at all, despite the sincerity of their tone.

Iverson hated politics. This negotiation was getting them nowhere. He almost wished for something to actually happened, just almost. Yet the universe decided to make it come true, despite letting him down numerous times in the past.

“Ma’am! You can’t be here!” There was a ruckus outside the room. The door opened, revealing Mr. and Mrs. Garrett. Iverson noticed belatedly that the two Paladins activated their weapons--why did the Krullan let them carry it? Granted it wouldn’t seem to make a difference considering Shirogane’s weapon was his  _ entire arm _ \- and was ready to diffuse the situation. However, upon realizing that they were civilians,  Shirogane and Kogane put their weapons aside and stepped aside.

Allura stood up from her seat and approached them, “You must be Hunk’s--” Mrs. Garrett was not the masses, and Allura did not win her heart. The mother slapped the alien princess, hard and loud. The Paladins didn’t move, just looked away.

“You can’t have my son!” Mrs. Garrett couldn’t stop crying, couldn’t stop the shaking, but her threat was carried with the fierceness of a lioness.

The Altean looked hurt, but not because of the slap. "I'm not here to take him if he doesn't wish to come, ma'am." She tried to smile again, this time placatingly. "Your son is a very brave and kind man, and I'm honored to be friends with him. You raised him well."

Mr. Garrett felt insulted. After seeing what they changed Hunk into, she  _ dared  _ to try that bullshit. “Leave.” He grunted through gritted teeth. “My son will not come with you.”

There was a pause. “Very well then.” Allura suddenly seemed more agreeable. “Paladins, we are leaving.”

Kogane visibly relaxed, making Iverson noticed something is wrong. The Krullan also caught on when they received a message from their comm. “The other paladins managed to escape!” They announced. “This is a distraction!”

Shirogane winced when the human soldiers pulled their weapons out, surrounding them. “I’m sorry.” He whispered softly before activating his glowing arm, followed by Kogane and his sword.

They escaped rather easily, as if it was just another Thursday for them. The humans barely got hurt, and the only ones unconscious are the Krullans after Shirogane knocked their heads together. Between the mess of the situation, Iverson wondered why they were so soft despite having been tainted by war.

* * *

In the end, they have to left Earth without liberating it, and only Pidge got to say goodbye to her mom. “She said she believes us. Not the Krullans. US!” A grin bloomed on her lips, “She volunteered to help the Krullans to spy on them!”

“Like mother like daughter.” Lance said tiredly. “And by the way? Getting the comm out of our throats is a bitch to do. Next time I will stick to deepthroating d--”

“Lance.” Pidge suddenly said.

“What?”

“Your grandpa also believes in you.” She informed. “Him and my mother are working together to uncover the truth. So don’t worry about your family.”

Lance just smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I will worry about them anyway.”

“Agreeable.” Pidge leaned on him. “We’ll be fine.”

“We will.”


End file.
